Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS

Recommendatio
ns for LL/AD
District for
Virtual Schools
Liberman, Leila H
UMUC: EDTC 650

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Recommendations for the LL/AD District for Virtual Schools

The purpose of this report is to provide a background summary on the status of Virtual
Schools (VS) in the United States and for the Dudley/Lieb Corporation to provide a proposal for
the formation of VS in the LL/AD district within the state of Maryland. The corporation will
provide recommendations for structure, a mission statement, policies, criteria for course
development, will touch on the administration of running a VS and finally implementation.
Background
The National Education Policy Center (NEPC) says it identified 338 full-time virtual
schools, enrolling 243,000 students, in the 2012-13 academic year. This represents a 22 percent
rise in the number of students served over the previous year (Cavanagh, 2014, p.24). Families
may not have access to high quality courses at their local school for many reasons, including
funding, the course/courses not offered in the district and insufficient student enrollment to
warrant providing the desired course or courses. In order to eliminate these challenges at both
course and school levels, introducing VS as a digital learning environment is a must. According
to Matthew Chingos (2013), NEPC report on K-12, states that full-time virtual schools have
gone from barely a blip on the radar screen a decade ago to enrolling approximately 275,000
students in 2011-12.
Structure

Name: LL/AD Virtual Schools for K-12

Two main campuses: Cumberland and Baltimore
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Focus on K-12 educationk-12

Inclusion of special needs student courses
School year will run year round with 2-3 week holidays between quarters
Class size: not to exceed 20 students
All instructors will have a Masters degree at a minimum
Mission Statement for LL/AD Virtual Schools
LL/AD VS K-12 serves children primarily residing in Maryland by offering an advanced

course load to prepare them for the ongoing developing growth in the digital world either for
advanced education or entering the work force upon graduation of grade 12. Innovative programs
will be offered for Advanced Placement students and there will be a commitment to programing
for special needs students. The educators employed by the VS are chosen based on their
expertise and their passion for exposing children to the advancements in digital educational
arena. LL/AD VS K-12 will provide an excellent platform from which every student will be
engaged and motivated going beyond their learning needs.
Policies
All virtual education programs and courses will be consistent with District instructional
goals and aligned with Marylands academic standards, curricular framework and assessments.
These programs will be accredited by the Maryland Department of Education.
Students applying for permission to take a virtual/online course will do the following:

Liberman 2

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Meet with the counselor and/or administrator to assess the students ability to function
effectively in an online or virtual school environment

Complete prerequisites

Demonstrate proper academic ability, attendance history, and behavioral history

Students must complete all coursework within the calendar structure of the local district unless a
variance is granted from the administration in advance.
The student and parents must sign a contract for any virtual school course.
Costs for virtual coursework

The school district will pay all costs for any course being delivered via the VSorientai, if
it is part of the districts regular course offering, and it is the only delivery method for
that course.

In all other instances, the student will be responsible for all costs associated with VS
courses.
o These costs may include:

registration and/or costs of the course from the delivery source

Liberman 3

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

costs required for credit

costs for textbooks (provided the district does not have the textbook)

costs for resources including lab materials

The State of Maryland will pay for each successfully completed Advanced Placement AP
semester course that a student completes. If a student withdraws before course completion,
without just cause, the student will be responsible for all course costs. Successfully completing a
course is achieved when a student receives a C grade or above from the Advanced Placement
teacher. Withdrawal and/or failure to complete a course means that a student does not complete
the course with a C grade or above. The State will determine, in all instances, if a course
requirement has not been fulfilled.
Course development
LL/AD VS will provide distance education (DE) materials which are organized and
developed by specialists who will help with content and teaching strategies appropriate for DE
learning (Moore & Keasley, 2012). The content will be distributed via multiple forms of
technology. All interactions between learners and instructors, either synchronous or
asynchronous will be planned with advance notice to all students.
Study guide
There will be a study guide for each course offered to include:
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

1. Introduction to the course

2. Statement of goals
3. Statement of objectives
4. Schedule of specific lessons
5. Schedule of specific due dates
6. Schedule of specific activity due dates
7. Directions for all activities and exercises
8. Explanations of relationships between activities/media and readings
9. Explanation of the grading policy
10. Explanation of other course requirements
11. Suggestions for good study techniques
12. Suggestions for outside class activities
13. Information on how to reach the instructor/tutor/writing coach
Web based information
Web conferences

Questions, problem solving and scenarios will be presented to generate an open dialogue
Students will be expected to interact either by voice or by visual indicators that will be

offered
Interaction and student engagement are a necessity for success

Web documents

Students will have access to all documents via a URL or uploaded directly to the learning

management system (LMS)

Students will have an email account set up through the district

Learning management system

The Learning Management System (LMS) will have all the learning materials that are
needed for the course
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Files will be either typed directly to the LMS or in the form of downloadable files
Exams will be administered via the LMS
The LMS will be compatible for Mac users and Microsoft users

Multimedia tools

Audio/video clips will be used

Multiple on line synchronous conferencing will be offered
Instructional system design
Moore and Keasley (2012) have developed the following flow chart for securing a highly

enriched online class. LL/AD Corporation highly suggests the district follow the flow chart in
order to increase the likelihood of a high course completion rate.

Criteria necessary for success

Technical support

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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Technology training and support must be available to the instructors, as well as the
learners. Teachers who have embraced the use of multimedia technologies, such as podcasts, are
finding their students more actively involved in their own learning (Sprague & Pixley, 2008).
The IT relationship lesson in which Blaschke (2004) reports, is supported in the literature and
critical for student-to-student collaboration. In order for students to learn, they need to connect
with the digital material, and use it effectively (Bates & Poole, 2003).
Social presence
Maintaining a social presence in the online classroom is important concept when
reviewing an online students successful experience. LL/AD K-12 programs will encourage
constant interpersonal relationships to engage and motivate the learner and increase their success
rate. According to Cui (2013), communication and medias attributes will positively affect
students communication behaviors and has been found to have a great impact on the learner. It is
important to build and fostering a relationship in media socialization, where the learner will be
successful with establishing interpersonal relationships (Cui, 2013).

Orientation
LL/AD K-12 will hold a mandatory orientation for every online class. An orientation for
online learning has the potential to remove many of the technological and soft skill barriers such
as time management that may prevent the student from concentrating on their coursework, from

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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

becoming frustrated, and eventually dropping out of their online course (Jones, 2013, p.43).
According to Jones (2013) orientations can:

Provide realistic expectations

Provide hands-on practice with technology
Provide time for the learner to work on potential technology issues
Allow the online learner to become more comfortable in the online learning environment
Create a sense of welcome to the classroom
Familiarize the student with the resources available
Increase the students comfort level with in the LMS and the online classroom

Counseling/Advising services
There will be options to attain counseling and/or advising services for LL/AD district K12 schools. This advising will be available via online chat, face to face and conferencing.
LaPadula (2003) address, the concept of learner support and recommends that online students
have the same learner support assistance with which on-campus students are provided. This
service is supported by a study completed and reported by LaPadula (2003). This study
demonstrated the value counseling services for online students and showed an increased interest
in the following academic support areas: on-line tutoring, degree guidance, and Internet
research.
Contact information and instructor feedback
Dudley/Lieb Corporation recommend:

Liberman 8

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

All instructors be available via email and maintain a set of online office hours when a

learner may schedule a specific virtual meeting.

A 36 hour turnaround time for all email communications.
A 48 hour turnaround time for a requested synchronous meeting between the student and

the instructor, or the parent and the instructor.

All instructors maintenance of email address
Cell phone number distribution will be at the discretion of the faculty

Feedback must be effective and Nicol and Macfarlane-Dick have developed seven principles that
the Dudley/Lieb Corporation support.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Help clarify what good performance is (goals, criteria, expected standards).

Facilitate the development of self-assessment (reflection) in learning.
Deliver high quality information to students about their learning.
Encourage teacher and peer dialogue around learning.
Encourage positive motivational beliefs and self-esteem.
Provide opportunities to close the gap between current and desired performance.
Provide information to teachers which can be used to help shape teaching.

(Nicol & Macfarlane-Dick, 2004, 2006)

Administration
Dudley/Lieb Corporation will reference and recommend the following link in its
development of an administrative structure in its VS.
https://learn.umuc.edu/content/enforced/22086-022072-01-2145-GO1-9020/Virtual%20Schools
%20Online%20Learning%20How%20it%20works%202008.pdf?
_&d2lSessionVal=pBEff1UTX277W7wzC4cA8jEZR
The following administrative officers and offices are recommended:
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

CEO/Principal
Chief Academic Officer
CIO
Student Services
Teacher Training
Government Affairs
Legal Representation
Human Resources
Marketing
Information Technologies

Each of these positions are vital to the success of the districts VS development. When choosing
the individuals to hold any of these positions, Dudley/Lieb recommend they hold the minimum
of a Masters Degree and have five years face-to face (f-2-f) teaching experience with at least
two years of online course teaching.
Implementation
Dudley/Lieb Corporation recommend a Blended Learning (BL) environment for the
district. Blended learning has two components: f-2-f and online learning (Moore and Keasley,
2012). When an instructor uses an f-2-f course and moves it to a BL course he/she needs to
adjust their classroom teaching strategies in order to achieve high student achievement and
engagement (Jinyuan, Fore, & Forbes, 2011).

The corporation supports the Seven Best Practices published by Jinyuan, Fore, and Forbes
(2011).
1. Integrate laptops into teaching and learning.
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Design interactive games to mitigate challenging content learning.

Administer short quizzes to ensure reading prior to live lectures.
Conduct additional face-to-face lectures to review challenging content.
Implement the classroom response system (Clickers) to give practice questions.
Divide students into groups to work on case studies and scenarios to reinforce content

learning.
7. Archive key classroom lectures and expand to mobile learning.

The Dudley/Lieb Corporation believe that with the various technologies that blended learning
brings to the classroom, faculty will need to use these technologies to motivate students, increase
the classroom interactions and maintain a high course completion rate.
Conclusion
The Dudley/Lieb Corporation has presented a proposal for the development of a VS in
the LL/AD District of Maryland. At this time, by instating a VS, students will be able to
participate in more advanced courses, experience more integrated digital technologies and
experience a learning environment that is on the cutting edge of technology. Students and parents
will find that by attending the VS, the learners will be more engaged, motivated self-learners and
embrace continual growth of the digital era.

Liberman 11

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

References
Bates, A.W., & Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education:
Foundations for success. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Blaschke, L.M. (2004). Sustaining online collaboration: Seven lessons for application in the
Volkswagen AutoUni. In U. Bernath & A. Szcs (Eds.), Proceedings of the Third EDEN
Research Workshop Oldenburg, March 4-6, 2004 (pp. 388-394). Oldenburg: Bibliotheksund Informationssystem der Universitt Oldenburg. Retrieved from http://www.c3l.unioldenburg.de/cde/support/EDENReadings/Blaschke.pdf
Cavanagh, S. (2014). Virtual schools in the U.S. 2014: Politics, performance, policy, and
research evidence. Education Week, 33(24), 5.
Guoqiang, C. (2013). Evaluating online social presence: An overview of social presence
assessment. Journal Of Educational Technology Development & Exchange, 6(1), 13-30.
Jinyuan, T., Fore, C., & Forbes, W. (2011). Seven best face-to-face teaching practices in a
blended learning environment. Journal Of Applied Learning Technology, 1(3), 20-29.
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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Jones, K. (2013). Developing and implementing a mandatory online student orientation. Journal
Of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 17(1), 43-45.
LaPadula, M. (2003). A comprehensive look at online student support services. American
Journal of Distance Education, 17(2), 119-128.

Moore, M. G., & Kearsley, G. (2012). Distance Education: A Systems View of Online Learning
(3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Nicol, D.J., & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2004). Rethinking formative assessment in HE: A
theoretical
model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Retrieved October 31, 2009,
from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/learning/assessment/senlef/principles.

Nicol, D., & Macfarlane-Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning:
A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education,
31(2), 199218.
Questioning the Quality of Virtual Schools. (2013). Education Next, 13(2), 46-49.
Sprague, D., & Pixley, C. (2008). Podcasts in education: let their voices be heard. Computers In
The Schools, 25(3/4), 226-234. doi:10.1080/07380560802368132

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Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Rubric
100-90

89-80

79-70

<69

Total/10

Effective
Introductory
Statement

The introduction is
focused, well developed
and states the main
thesis with precision, and
clearly previews the
structure of the essay.

The introduction states

the main topic and
previews the structure of
the essay, but the
introduction may be a
little vague in places or
may only partially
address the authors
thesis or purpose.

The introduction states

the main topic, but does
not adequately preview
the purpose of the
purpose or its structure. It
may be unclear.

There is no clear
introduction of the main
topic or structure of the
essay.

/20

Focus on
Topic

There is one clear, wellfocused topic. Main idea

stands out, is perceptive,
and is supported by clear,
convincing and detailed
information.

Main idea is clear but the

supporting information
may be somewhat
general or the essay may
be more descriptive than
analytic in spots.

Main idea is somewhat

clear but there is a need
for more supporting
information.

The main idea is not

clear. There is a
seemingly random
collection of information.

/20

The writer adequately

Synthesis of The writer describes a
summary
of
virtual
school
describes a summary of
Topic

The writer describes a

summary of virtual school
status in the United
virtual school status in the status in the United
States; recommended
United States;
States; recommended
model applicable to the
recommended model
model applicable to the
district, with a justification applicable to the district, district, with a justification
for each element of the
with a justification for
for each element of the
recommended model and each element of the
recommended model and
suggestions for
recommended model and suggestions for
overcoming anticipated
suggestions for
overcoming anticipated
hurdles; type of course
overcoming anticipated
hurdles; type of course
design (webhurdles; type of course
design (webfacilitated/blended/online) design (webfacilitated/blended/online)
and a proposed
facilitated/blended/online) and a proposed
implementation plan.
and a proposed
implementation plan, but
implementation plan.
at a very base level.

The writer fails to

/20
successfully describe a
summary of virtual school
status in the United
States; recommended
model applicable to the
district, with a justification
for each element of the
recommended model and
suggestions for
overcoming anticipated
hurdles; type of course
design (webfacilitated/blended/online)
and a proposed
implementation plan.

Liberman 14

Running head: RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE LL/AD DISTRICT FOR VIRTUAL

SCHOOLS
Leila Liberman
EDTC 650
July 2014
Assignment #4: Virtual School Consultant

Presentation Student provides a 1-2

Student fails to provide a /20

1-2 minute multimedia
presentation.

minute multimedia
presentation.

Conclusion

Conclusion successfully
packages the paper.

Presentation/paper
Writing,
Spelling and contains no mechanical
or APA errors.
Grammar

Conclusion packages the Student writes a

The writer fails to include /10
paper, but may be
conclusion that fails to
a conclusion.
missing key details.
summarize and package
the paper.

Presentation/paper
contains fewer than 3
mechanical errors.

Presentation/paper
contains fewer than 6

Presentation/paper
contains more than 5

mechanical errors.

mechanical errors.

Liberman 15

/10